Life

The stats don’t lie. Raising a kid could cost you somewhere north of $250,000 and that doesn’t count the costs for college (which just about double that number…yikes). Those numbers aren’t meant to scare you, but to prepare you for the financial reality that is knocking on your doorstep…but you all are already so far ahead of the game because you’re here…learning about smart money moves.

On this podcast episode, I interview author, mother and all around awesome chic, Kimberly Palmer, about her new book set to hit stores in early June, Smart Mom, Rich Mom. We talk about:

How to prepare for a new baby

What you can do right now to start making smart budget changes to prepare

What are some of her best tips to keep saving for retirement and for the college expenses

How to manage it all…even the messy money bits that are bound to pop up

Grab your copy of the book today – and give yourself permission to be a Smart Mom, Rich Mom.

Renting Your First Apartment

I know, it can be a daunting renting your first apartment. There’s so much to think about, so much to budget for and so many things that you have no idea how to handle. I can vividly remember renting my first apartment. I made all the mistakes…

I wanted something shiny and new

I didn’t figure out how much above the rent I would spend

I didn’t figure out who was going to pay rent & how we would split up chores

I didn’t understand what happens if we break a lease

Here’s the awesome part – you don’t have to make any mistakes (but if you do, it’s ok too). Check out my most recent Millennial Money iTunes podcast episode below and learn the tricks that have helped me save a ton of money and be smart when renting apartments.

Be sure to subscribe to iTunes so you get all our most recent episodes.

I can hardly believe we’ve done 100 episodes of Millennial Money! It feels like yesterday I started the podcast, all with the hopes of spreading some money wisdom. We’ve had over 200,000 listeners in 150 countries around the world. That makes me so happy because I’ve always believed that we can create a millennial money movement and inspire everyone to take charge of their finances.

I can’t wait to see what the next 100 episodes contain. Until then, here is my ultimate list of the top 100 Millennial Money tips.

Would you trade your job to travel in an RV with your spouse…and film it? Heath & Alyssa Padgett said yes for their new documentary, Hourly America.

When Heath & Alyssa Padgett got married, they decided they didn’t want the traditional honeymoon. Instead, they ditched their 9-5 jobs and headed out on an adventure in a tiny RV named Franklin. Heath & Alyssa traveled to 50 states and did one job in each state while Alyssa filmed the journey for their documentary, Hourly America.

While you might be thinking, “Sure, that’s easy to do if you have a trust fund,” they are quick to share all of their financial lessons from along the road, including the fact that they had to become quick entrepreneurs to fund this journey. What started as a unique honeymoon adventure has turned into a budding business for these two who continue to live and travel in their RV.

Heath & Alyssa are in the final stages of putting together their documentary and have turned to us to help fund Hourly America. I don’t know about you, but I’d love to see this go mainstream. I can’t imagine how a newly married couple could live in an RV for over a year, let alone add in the pressures to film, work and document their life.

Hopefully, their story inspires you to take a risk and not settle for the status-quo. If there’s a dream career you’ve been wishing for, today is the day to chase after it. Take a risk, be brave, try something new…and ask yourself, “What’s the worst that could happen?” My guess is that you’ll probably uncover hidden talents that you possess and a whole new world that was waiting for you to discover!

I had the privilege of interviewing Chris Costello, CFP®, CEO and co-founder of Blooom. Blooom is an innovative new Financial Technology firm that offers FREE 401(k) analysis and fund selection strategies for a very low monthly fee all in hopes of helping their clients enjoy retirement. More than that, Chris and Blooom have a strong passion for the service they are providing for millions of people who simply find 401(k) investing to be confusing, and therefore, are invested in all the “wrong” places. Their goal: help their clients live the retirement dream they’ve had without having to come up with a plan b.

Everyone is always so nervous about a “robot” handling their money. Is the company secure? Is it secure to send my information over the internet?

Let me pause here for a moment. Does the name Bernie Madoff ring any bells for you? He STOLE billions and billions or dollars from people who thought they were investing their money with a reputable person. The worst part, most people will never even see a fraction of the money they worked hard to invest ever again. Gone, in the blink of an eye.

Yes, technology can have glitches and there can be security breaches. It’s a reality of the world we live in. However, each and every day we send tons of emails with otherwise private information and never think twice about it. With a company like Blooom, or any other “robo-advisor” firm, they are working hard to make sure our information stays safe because that’s how they make money.

It’s a new concept, and robo-advising will either flourish or vanish in the hands of millennials. If I were a betting woman I would say that robo-advising is here to stay and that financial technology is going to be the majority not the minority in a short period of time. Let’s face it, technology just makes everything so much easier…and if it can now make my 401(k) investing easier…

I’m sure you will enjoy this one, which is a great conversation about why millennials need to make smart financial choices no matter where their money is invested or who it’s invested with. We’ve got time on our sides, but making good choices can really help supercharge our savings….which means mo’ money in the future for all those cool things we want to do!

Naming someone the beneficiary of your 401(k) or life insurance policy is a big deal. That person could inherit however much money you’ve worked hard to accumulate.

What happens far too often though is someone in their 20’s and 30’s might name their boyfriend or girlfriend, or even their best friend, and then simply forget to change it when they broke up or decided they no longer wanted to friends (yes, friendship can be fickle.) This is bad news if something happens to you. Despite your boyfriend or girlfriend begin your worst enemy, if you were to pass away and they were named the beneficiary then…you guessed it…they get your loot with no questions asked.

Ouch!

There are a few things you’ve got to know before you name someone as your beneficiary, and I’ve got them all ready to share with you in this podcast.

Life insurance is not a common dinnertime conversation. You wouldn’t find Don Draper sitting in a restaurant with a cocktail professing how amazing life insurance is. It’s just not sexy. No one likes to talk about it, much less think about it. After all, life insurance is something that you only have to think about when you are old and gray, right?

Actually, there is nothing that could be further from the truth. Life Insurance is one of the oldest forms of insurance that still has significant value in any financial plan. In the right situation, it could be just as important as having a strong Emergency Fund, or funding your retirement.

Still need proof? Here are 6 compelling reasons why life insurance isn’t just for your parents.

If your money journey is anything like mine, it hasn’t exactly been something you want to pop a bottle of champagne to celebrate over. I always want to be really honest with you because I think it’s why I’m able to give you content that you can relate to…because I’ve been there.

I like all my content to be positive and approachable, unlike other personal finance experts, like my video on the 6 Deadly Money Sins at the Airport. Ok, that video might not seem positive, BUT if you do the steps you will save a ton of money, which is the best outcome ever.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve certainly had times in my life when I have been chained to my money fears. Palms sweating and heart racing kind of times. Times where all I could do was to worry about money – how will I make money, where will the money come from, will I have enough money. In that place, you can’t even think straight, which is why I’ve found that more money mishaps are made in fear and panic than when we are cool and calm.

Does this sound like you?

Breaking free of anything that binds us up takes a lot of time and some hardcore work on our part. Just think about going to the gym. I mean, does anyone really like going to the gym? We all go to the gym for one reason only, to lose that last 5 pounds that we swore we would lose (that, and we admit that looking at everyone working out can be pretty funny.) I don’t know about you, but I’d much rather be on the sofa at home watching my favorite reality TV show…the one that I’ve seen 15 times already. (more…)